China Scene: West

'Many happy returns to you and you and you'

For a family in Baqiao district, Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, April 2 is a special date. It is the birthday of three family members - but they are not triplets.

Wu Fangxian, 81, was born April 2, 1927, her second son Zhang Junliang was born the same day in 1957 and her first son's grandson Zhang Meng was also born the same day in 1998.

As such, it is a red-letter day and the happy birthday song is sung to the three family members, whose ages range from 12 to 81.

(Sanqin Metropolis Daily)

Soldier absent with leave from his own wedding

On Tuesday, a special wedding was performed in Chengdu county, Shaanxi province - without the bridegroom present.

According to the bride, Tang Meigui, her groom Qin Bin is a soldier and had to return to base eight days before the wedding. "We had planned the wedding for a long time and we wanted to marry quickly," she said.

At the wedding ceremony, the respective parents, relatives and friends of the bride and groom gave their best wishes and Qin made a phone call from the army base where he is stationed saying, "I do".

"I will remember our special wedding forever," Tang Meigui said.

(Sanqin Metropolis Daily)

Hikers rescued an injured serow on Sunday in the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi province.

On Sunday afternoon, a group of hikers from Xianyang city were sightseeing in the mountains when they spotted an injured serow lying on a stone in a river. They called police and then helped rescue workers carry the animal, which is under second-class State protection, to an animal protection station for treatment.

(Xi'an Evening News)

Youngster takes lead in protecting environment

Chongqing municipality's Chen Xingtong, 11, was so concerned about a polluted river he did something about it and as a result the local authorities are conducting an investigation into the problem.

Last October, Chen was playing on the bank of Jialing River with his parents and found refuse in the water. This spurred him to find out where it came from. After investigating for six months in his spare time, Chen wrote a report on pollution in the river and suggested some measures to clean it up.

His report attracted a lot of attention from the local government and the relevant departments concerned are taking steps to solve the problem.

(Chongqing Evening News)

Life changes on turn of a card

Chen, a young woman from Nanzheng county, Shaanxi province, saved herself and her friend with a poker card.

Chen and her friend Zhao were cheated by three men named Qu Yanhua, Kong Xiaohu and Guo Yang when they were taken to Mianxian county and forced to prostitute themselves in a room at a small hotel

Chen secretly wrote an SOS note on a poker card and told the men she had to buy some sanitary napkins. When she was taken to a supermarket in the evening she managed to pass the card to a passerby, who informed the police.

Around 15 minutes after returning to the hotel police went to the room where Chen and Zhao were kept and the three men were arrested.

(Xi'an Evening News)

Who needs marriage when we've got each other?

Wang Jizhi, 86, and Wang Jirong, 81, a pair of sisters in Sichuan province, have been living happily together for more than 80 years.

But their long life together is not the only thing that makes them unique - they are both 1.4 m tall and weigh less than 20 kg. Their small size kept them from marrying, so they turned to each other for support.

"Though we never married, we live happily with each other," Wang Jirong, the younger sister, said.

The sisters are healthy and still have black hair.

"We are in good health because we are still young girls," Wang Jirong said with a smile.

(West China Metropolis Daily)

(China Daily 04/08/2008 page6)